On many occasions we buy something that requires assembly. Inside the box is a booklet telling the name of all the parts and how they fit together. In most cases this booklet is placed aside because we know how to put things together. After several minutes of things not fitting together and having parts left that we are pretty sure should have been used, we reach for the booklet, read and then follow the instructions. To our surprise all the pieces were gone and the item looked just like its picture on the box.
Instructions are important in many things, especially when it comes to our salvation. The Bible is God’s instructions given to man, so that man can be saved eternally. In the book of Acts we find where the apostles and other preachers directed people to follow God’s instructions. Peter on the day of Pentecost told about Jesus. He told about the good Jesus had done and of the miracles He had preformed. He then told them that they had crucified the very Son of God. When they yearned to know what to do, he told them to, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). They had to “follow the instructions”
Paul wrote, “ Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain” (1 Cor. 15:1-2). In order to remain saved, they had to continue to follow the instructions.
The problem is that so many treat the Bible just like the instruction book we spoke of earlier. They think they know how everything should go, so they do not bother to look into the book itself. Perhaps the words of Isaiah need to be read and heeded, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). The God of heaven is the Great Designer. He designed the heavens and the earth, giving man all he needed to live; He also designed the plan for man’s salvation, including the giving of His Son for the sins of mankind. He has given us the instruction book – the Bible so that we can know how to please Him. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3:16, 17).
God’s instructions have not changed. Man must still follow the divine instructions in order to have eternal life. If you desire to have eternal life, open the book, study it and simply, “follow the instructions.”
Instructions are important in many things, especially when it comes to our salvation. The Bible is God’s instructions given to man, so that man can be saved eternally. In the book of Acts we find where the apostles and other preachers directed people to follow God’s instructions. Peter on the day of Pentecost told about Jesus. He told about the good Jesus had done and of the miracles He had preformed. He then told them that they had crucified the very Son of God. When they yearned to know what to do, he told them to, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). They had to “follow the instructions”
Paul wrote, “ Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain” (1 Cor. 15:1-2). In order to remain saved, they had to continue to follow the instructions.
The problem is that so many treat the Bible just like the instruction book we spoke of earlier. They think they know how everything should go, so they do not bother to look into the book itself. Perhaps the words of Isaiah need to be read and heeded, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). The God of heaven is the Great Designer. He designed the heavens and the earth, giving man all he needed to live; He also designed the plan for man’s salvation, including the giving of His Son for the sins of mankind. He has given us the instruction book – the Bible so that we can know how to please Him. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3:16, 17).
God’s instructions have not changed. Man must still follow the divine instructions in order to have eternal life. If you desire to have eternal life, open the book, study it and simply, “follow the instructions.”